Sam Vail Realtor

10/27/2026

New Housing Executive Order: What It Means for Ann Arbor Homebuyers

Last Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order called Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People. Housing affordability is one of the biggest issues on the ballot this year, so here is what is actually in it, minus the noise.

PMI could disappear sooner. New pilot programs through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would cancel private mortgage insurance once borrowers hit certain equity targets. PMI typically runs 0.5 to 1.5 percent of the loan each year. On a $350,000 loan, that is $1,750 to $5,250 a year. The catch: it only applies to new loans made after the pilot launches.
Cheaper refinances. The order expands a program that lets some refinances skip title insurance and asks regulators to cut certain loan fees.
More manufactured housing. A new federal task force has 180 days to clear red tape on factory built homes.
Lower rates on USDA and VA direct loans.

The fine print: nothing changed the day it was signed. Federal agencies still have to build all of this. The Realtors and home builders cheered it. Title insurers warned it could shift fraud risk onto families. As a numbers guy, I will tell you the details will decide whether it saves you real money.

Now the part that matters most. Housing decisions get made from city hall to Congress, and the Michigan general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early in person voting runs through Sunday, Nov. 1. Not registered yet? You can still register in person at your clerk’s office. Check your registration and polling place at Michigan.gov/Vote.

I don’t care how you vote. I care that you do. Wear the sticker proudly, then call me with your questions. I’ll bring the spreadsheet.

Sam Vail | Real Estate One | Alex Milshteyn Team
(734) 417-2919 | [email protected]
With Sam V it’s a guarantee.

10/01/2026

Price it right or price it twice.

Across the country, more than 1 in 5 sellers chopped their asking price in September. That's the highest September rate since 2018.

Ann Arbor? Different story, with a catch.

The good news: Ann Arbor home sales are up 7 percent this year, and prices are holding steady.

The catch: Washtenaw County inventory is up 19 percent from last year, and mortgage rates are hovering near 7 percent. Buyers have options, and they're using them.

The homes that win are priced right from day one. In August, homes that got an offer in the first 10 days mostly sold at or above asking. The ones that sat around mostly sold below.

Buyers, it's a great time to shop. Sellers, overpricing is now the most expensive mistake you can make.

Want to know what your home would actually sell for? Not the Zestimate. What a real buyer would pay this fall. Send me a message. I'll bring the comps, you bring the coffee.

08/05/2026

The luxury market is booming. Yes, even now.

Everyday home sales have slowed, but luxury real estate is having one of its best years yet, and I'm feeling it firsthand. I've closed more luxury home sales in 2026 than any year before.

According to Coldwell Banker's Mid-Year Luxury Report, buyers at the top of the market are moving with real confidence. Searches for large estates and private islands are up 146 percent from last year. International buyers are back in a big way, with global searches for US luxury homes doubling this year. And the ultra wealthy are treating real estate like a savings account, pouring billions into high-end homes as a long-term investment.

Ann Arbor's luxury real estate market is right in step. Homes priced at $1.25 million and up are commanding real premiums in the right neighborhoods. Downtown properties are selling for well over the citywide price per square foot, and turnkey luxury homes in West Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor Hills are going fast, sometimes over asking.

Thinking about buying or selling a luxury home in Ann Arbor? Let's talk. I'd love to show you what I'm seeing in this market. No pressure, just real numbers and real strategy.

Sam V Alex Milshteyn Team, Real Estate One With Sam V it's a guarantee.

07/30/2026

I've always been fascinated by the history of real estate and how yesterday's back story shapes today's headlines.

Washtenaw County, Michigan, just returned $3.3 million in real estate to families holding "tangled titles," a legacy of segregation-era workarounds. Black families locked out of formal ownership decades ago often had a white family front the purchase, then passed the house down informally, skipping probate because of a real distrust of the courts. That distrust made sense at the time. But it left descendants unable to prove ownership, claim a homestead exemption, or qualify for financing.

Washtenaw's Home for Generations program used pro bono attorneys and probate court quiet title actions to fix 23 of these cases so far, for about $2,000 each.

Here's the twist. Michigan just modernized its own probate code. Laws signed in 2024 let a surviving spouse or child inherit property worth up to $50,000, and let a relative inherit up to $25,000 on behalf of a minor or incapacitated person, without opening a full probate case. That's the kind of reform that could keep the next generation of families out of a tangled title mess: cheaper, faster and clearer.

If you're settling an estate above those thresholds, you may still need a probate bond to open the case. Jet Surety has a solid breakdown of the new law and how bonding works: https://jetsurety.com/articles/detail/new-michigan-law-to-modernize-probate-code

History shapes who owns what today, and good policy can change that story going forward. Questions about a title or a probate sale? Send me a message. I love digging into this stuff.

06/02/2026

Here's the honest picture on the 2026 spring market — nationally and right here in Ann Arbor.

Nationally, the rebound everyone expected never really showed up. Rates briefly touched 5.99% in February, then the Iran conflict pushed them back into the mid-6s. Consumer confidence dropped. March existing home sales hit a nine-month low. NAR cut their 2026 forecast from 14% growth down to 4%.

Here in Washtenaw County, the story is a little different and a little more nuanced.

Prices are still holding. The county median is around $400K, up over 5% from last year. Ann Arbor proper is sitting near $488K. That kind of appreciation doesn't happen in a broken market.

But volume is softer. Fewer homes are selling. Days on market are ticking up. Buyers who can qualify are taking their time, and sellers who don't have to move are holding firm on price.

What that means practically: if you're priced right and your home shows well, you can still win in this market. If you're waiting for a bidding war on an overpriced listing, you're going to be waiting a while.

This is exactly the kind of market where having the right agent matters most not just someone to put a sign in the yard, but someone who can read what the data is actually saying and help you make the right move at the right time.

BONUS! A cute pic of the historic house my buyer's just closed on Geddes.

That's the Sam V Guarantee. Reach out if you want a straight conversation about where things stand for your situation.

05/12/2026

Real talk about the Ann Arbor market 👇
I hear it all the time — "is it a good time to buy?" or "is the market slowing down?" And my honest answer is: it depends on which market you're in.
Ann Arbor isn't one market right now. It's three:
🔶 Starter (~$275K) — still competitive, still tight, still moves fast
🟢 Mid-tier (~$414K) — the strongest segment, where most buyers and sellers are playing
🟣 Upper-end (~$636K and up) — slower pace, more negotiating room, more sensitive to pricing and condition
Depending on which source you look at, citywide medians run from $385K to over $500K. That's not bad data — that's just proof that Ann Arbor doesn't behave like one uniform market.
Knowing which tier you're in changes everything about your strategy.
That's the Sam V Guarantee — not a one-size-fits-all answer, but the right answer for your situation.
Buying or selling this spring? Let's talk. 👇

05/07/2026

Ann Arbor spring market update plus some national context I think is worth knowing.

Locally, things look pretty good. More homes are coming on the market, prices are holding up, and buyers have a little more breathing room than the last few years. That's a healthy combination.

The quick local numbers:
• Median sale price around $410K, still up year over year
• Inventory up nearly 13% from last spring
• Ann Arbor listings went from 250 in February to 456 in April
• Homes averaging about 47 days on market not flying off the shelf, but moving

Now here's the bigger picture I've been watching:

Nationally, there are some credit stress signals that don't make the typical housing headlines but matter. FHA loan delinquencies are running around 11-12%. Credit card debt has hit record levels. Auto loan delinquencies are climbing. These are the kinds of early warning signs that tend to show up before housing stress becomes obvious in prices.

The markets most at risk are the ones that boomed hardest from 2020-2023 and are now getting hammered by rising insurance costs think Florida, Texas, Arizona. Those markets have a real problem brewing.

Ann Arbor is a different story. University of Michigan anchors employment. Income levels here are strong. We don't have the insurance volatility or the speculative run-up those Sun Belt markets had. We're not bulletproof, but we're in a much better position than most of the country.

Bottom line for anyone thinking about making a move this spring: the local market is solid and the timing is reasonable — but this is not the environment to overprice a home or to buy without doing your homework.

If you want a real conversation about what's happening and what it means for you specifically, just reach out. Happy to talk it through.

04/28/2026

🏡 What's happening in the national housing market — and why Ann Arbor is a different story.

Nationally, home price growth has essentially flatlined. More than half of major U.S. metros are actually posting year-over-year price declines right now, with cities like Denver down over 2%. Economists are calling it a stall-out at the national level.
But here's what matters for us locally: the markets that are still seeing price appreciation are the ones with constrained inventory — and that's exactly where the Midwest, including Ann Arbor, sits. We're not Denver. We're not LA. We're a market where demand is real and supply stays tight.

And the timing couldn't be more interesting. A new consumer survey shows the mortgage rate lock-in effect — the thing that's kept so many would-be sellers frozen in place — is finally starting to loosen. More homeowners say they're ready to move than at any point in the last year. That means more activity is coming.
For buyers: the window to get into a market like Ann Arbor before that inventory pressure increases is right now.
For sellers: your equity is holding. This is not a crash. This is a market that rewards smart, well-priced listings.
Questions about what this means for your specific situation? My DM is always open. 👇

Call now to connect with business.

04/21/2026

🏠 Big news from the housing market — and some important context your buyers and sellers need to hear.

March pending home sales ticked up 1.5% month over month, signaling that pent-up demand is still alive despite higher mortgage rates. NAR's Chief Economist put it plainly: people want to move. They're just waiting for the right conditions.

Here in Southeast Michigan, that's a signal worth paying attention to. Inventory is the key — and more of it is what will turn that demand into actual closings.

What does that mean for YOU right now?
✅ If you've been sitting on the fence as a seller, motivated buyers are out there
✅ If you're a buyer, getting pre-approved and move-ready puts you ahead when the right home hits
✅ If you're watching rates — you're not alone, but waiting isn't always the winning strategy

The market isn't stalled. It's coiled.

Curious what your home is worth in today's market — or what you can realistically buy? Drop a comment or send me a message. Happy to walk through the numbers with you. With Sam V it's a guarantee!!!!! 👇

04/08/2026

The value conversation in Ann Arbor real estate is shifting — from 'what sold recently' to 'what could this property become?'

After nearly three years of public meetings, community debate, and revisions, Ann Arbor's City Council unanimously approved a new Comprehensive Land Use Plan on March 16, 2026. It's going to change how buyers and sellers think about property value for years to come.

What the plan does:
- Sets the city's development framework through 2050
- Signals a move away from exclusionary single-family-only zoning
- Opens the door to duplexes, triplexes & denser development in more neighborhoods
- Rezoning details still to come — the real changes happen over time

Why homeowners should pay attention:
- Some parcels may gain redevelopment potential as rezoning unfolds
- Buyers are starting to ask about zoning flexibility, not just the current house
- Land value and future use could become a bigger part of pricing conversations

Thinking about what this means for your property? I'm happy to walk through how the new plan could affect your neighborhood specifically. Reach out anytime.